thenima.in In This Issue Newsletter Issue 001 st 1 Mar 2018 Introduction to nmeet! NIMA as we proudly call it was formed to showcase the network strength of Indian MICE agencies who are contribu ng to the growth of this sector. To help us showcase the Indian Mee ngs and Events industry to the world and take it to the next level of growth. nmeet is published with an aim to keep its members updated on global and na onal MICE ac vi es. It aims to leap forward for the very fragmented Indian MICE industry which has li le, if any subject exper se and no clout to bargain at a consolidated level even though it is fast growing and showing a tendency to become a large industry in itself. With that as a background and over a couple of years in func oning, we introduce the NEWSLETTER called nmeet, simply meaning to meet. nmeet invites the ideas, inputs with regards to MICE by our own members and the industry they work and partner with. Subject ma er experts will share and impart knowledge through the case studies and experiences which they dealt with. A need for subject is in this ever emerging dynamic markets: discussion models and knowledge sharing is required for a healthy environment for compe on with wafer thin margins and increasing costs within our ecosystem. Looking forward to best of sharing and mee ng sessions! Happy reading. Vikrant Gulani (pr@thenima.in) Editor- nmeet Messages from NIMA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Welcome to the first edi on of nmeet!, NIMA's new quarterly newsle er designed especially for the Elite MICE fraternity and stakeholders. We aim to give you clear, sensible and reliable informa on about MICE from writers and experts that you can trust. We want it to be entertaining and informa ve, at mes contrary, but above all useful. Inside you ll find a mixture of news, features and regular columns on a wide range of MICE related topics. I hope you enjoy this first issue and do let us know if there are any topics you d like to see covered in the future. - Mr Jagdeep Bhagat, MD, VeeBee Tours and founder member NIMA. We are proud to have first issue of NIMA enews le er nmeet. With the launch of e newsle er " nmeet " NIMA puts another feather to its cap.the first issue of nmeet will take NIMA to new heights and will benefit MICE fraternity and will keep them updated with latest informa on and available offers. - Mr Gajesh Girdhar, MD, Paryatan and founder member NIMA. Let's Meet Catalonia! Let's Meet Catalonia was organised for NIMA members along with Catalonia Tourism board on 9th NOV 2017 at Le Meridien Gurgaon. STB - Passion made Possible!... Singapore Tourism Board recently took leading MICE outbound agent to Singapore for 05 days FAM, highligh ng the passion to take Singapore Tourism to the next level. How to become NIMA Member Current members are requested to weigh and the suggest new members to become part of this growing Network NIMA. A simple process by just going online to thnima.in and select membership will prompt to fill up an online form. The form will be duly vet by the membership team and a er a brief tele call a decision will be made. Click on link: 1
Messages from EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Dear Friends, As NIMA Con nues Making Milestones In Our Trade, I Congratulate All Members And Core Team For This Grand Success On The Occasion Of Launch Of N-Meet And Am Sure It Will Touch Greater Heights In The Years To Come. Mr Damanjit Foo all to an event- a challenge! Lots of events everywhere, not a single one worth to a end? What makes an event worth a ending, being business owners and me is money principle, Best Inbound tour operator from SATTE on 14thFebruary, 2017.- TIBET Tours a NIMA member from East India. Singapore Incen ves & Rewards (INSPIRE)-for Indian incen ve groups. Air India launches non-stop New Delhi- Amritsar-Birmingham flight Cyprus offers visa services in Goa through VFS Global Singapore Airlines launches 5th weekly flight from Ahmedabad No ce Newsroom As already informed earlier, The NIMA Execu ve commi ee has decided to make it MANDATORY for all the exis ng and future members to have t h e i r o w n p r o f e s s i o n a l w e b s i t e ( e g. www.yourcompany.com or www.yourbrand.in e t c ) a n d e m a i l i d ( e g. yourname@yourcompany.com etc). Let's Meet Catalonia! An event was organised along for NIMA members along with Catalonia Tourism board on 9th NOV 2017 at Le Meridien Gurgaon. The event was in con nua on and also a follow up on NIMAs annual conven on in 2015 at Barcelona which had healthy buyer supplier tabletop mee ngs. It was a ended by over 70 ac ve members of NIMA and saw many flying in from outsta on too to a end this event. Mr David Miro- a long me associate of Catalonia tourism board along with his colleagues Tahira and Tunis conducted the event. We also had Mr Suprio Basu, the chief commercial manager of Catalonia Tourism Board in Mumbai showcasing in a very interac ve showcase of the Catalonia region to members. A humble thanks was conveyed by NIMA founding member Mr Gajesh Girdhar (MD paryatan Holidays)who lead this event since conven on days with just an idea over a cuppa coffee with David at Korea! The event was well handled by team NIMA and member help from Mr Tushar Jain (Btc Tours), Mr Rajeev Chawla (Honeygold Vaca ons) and Mr Jagdeep Bhagat (VeeBEE Tours) David Miró- Asia - Pacífic Regional Director,david.miro@gencat.cat STB - Passion made Possible!... Singapore Tourism Board recently took leading MICE outbound agent to Singapore for 05 days FAM, highligh ng the passion to take Singapore Tourism to the next level. The stress was on showcasing team building ac vi es which Singapore has to offer to the MICE clients. From CulinaryON team b u i l d i n g, E u r o p e s l a r g e s t edutainment culinary studio, which opened its studio in Singapore for crea ve team bonding to Amazing Race by Focus Adventure which works on team building among peers.tribe Tour is the newest addi on on racks of various sightseeing tour offered by Singapore. Ever wondered about Singapore s super accelerated economic transforma on?how did this happen in 50 short years? What bold decisions had to be made? Tribe Tour intersperse this story with three fascina ng stops to get snippets on the importance of port, food manufacturing and farms in Singapore. Singapore s nominal GDP grew from 500 USD in 1965 to 56000 USD in 2015, on par with Germany and the United States. Yet this remarkable story is hardly ever told ll NOW. Ritesh Joshi - Head of Corporate Travel, Incen ves and Conference Planners LLP ritesh@iconplanners.com GUIDELINES GUIDELINES FOR ASSISTANCE BY THE MINISTRY OF TOURISM TO THE TOURISM, TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY TRADE ASSOCIATIONS FOR THEIR VARIOUS EVENTS IN INDIA AND ABROAD Tourism, travel and hospitality trade Associa ons play a key role in development, promo on and marke ng of tourism being the major stakeholders. These Associa ons hold various events in India from me to me with the assistance of their members, sponsors and Ministry of Tourism. These events, inter alia, focus on discussing various contemporary issues rela ng to development, promo on and marke ng of tourism, formula on of strategies for the purpose, holding interac on with other stakeholders, enhance and encourage par cipa on of the trade members for the development, promo on and marke ng of Tourism. h p://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/scheme%20guidelines_18.pdf 2
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Intro Meet- LEXIS HOTELS- Malaysia Mr Steve Woon, Head of sales from LEXIS Hotel Malaysia conducted a presenta on and one to one mee ng with selected 15-20 members of NIMA at Hotel Taj Vivanta, Khan Market Delhi. The high tea mee ng was conducted on 1st September 2017. Lexis Hotel Group manages the renowned Lexis, Grand Lexis and Lexis Hibiscus, all located in Port Dickson as well as Lexis Suites in Penang, Malaysia. An established name in the Malaysian hospitality scene, Lexis Hotel Group is the winner of Brandlaureate SMEs Best Brands Awards 2016-2017 (Hospitality) and Asia s Best Employer Brand Awards 2017. The iconic Lexis Hibiscus resembles the na onal flower of Malaysia and each of its 639 pool villa is equipped with private pool and steam room. It is the holder of GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS for achieving The most swimming pools in a resort and The most overwater villas in single resort. Addi onally the resort is also the recipient of World Luxury Hotel Awards Luxury Water Villa Resort category and Tripadvisor s Travellers Choice Award. Steve can be contacted on stevewoon@lexis.my 4
Foo all to an event- a challenge! Lots of events everywhere, not a single one worth to a end? What makes an event worth a ending, being business owners and me is money principle, the events for industry and made for us are important too to a end. The space is clu ered with many such events, workshops, shows, launch, exhibi ons, - with an exhaus ve choice to make. As one of the event maker, the following points to be kept in mind : 1. Date and me of the show: should be well considered, looking at duplica on within the industry so that, no parallel shows are taking place, thus thin a endance. Further, factors like weekend, workday, a er work and day of the week is equally important. Some shows are kept near to or sca er around big events like SATTE, giving opportunity to focus on many out of the city visitors to a end too. A good thing! 2. Venue: being from the industry, are well aware of most of the venues, restaurants, ballrooms etc, what is new? To conduct an event in a exclusive outdoor restaurant, a stand alone venue, a garden restaurant will surely generate interest among your a endees. How about dinner/event venues like, Wax museum, Kingdom of Dreams. Is the Rail museum open to conduct special dinner? 3. Who's the invitee, purpose: Another main reason to catch hold of nice interes ng audience is to get like minded people. Those who work in MICE will want to see Airline, Hotels, Venues, Tourism bureaus, conven on boards, or Associa on mee ngs which in turn provide value along with NETWORKING. 4. Agenda: Most importantly- what's in for us: do we have a road show, with one on one mee ng, do we have a closed door selected suppliers briefing by visi ng guest/dmc. Where, what part of the event you wish to a end to gain max value and win win for host as well. Just a networking event with showcasing newer launches will surely a ract many players. For eg: STB event sees a good foo all for all their events. 5. RSVP- importantly - generally seen, invites are sent to 3 mes the list of actual number of a endance. To ensure firm presence, a follow up team on calls and emails is required to intrude the outlook calendars of invitees. Just a mere follow up call experience can be enhanced with agenda and a li le talk of what's in store for you- it generates interest for sure! An app with pop ups on your devices will again be a good idea to recall and remind. Many other external factors, like traffic being major, wedding season, rains and other fes val around may dissuade for a thinner a endance to be seen for an event. The same can be encouraged by many newer ideas, like easier dress code, different mes for eg going in for a breakfast mee ng and events instead of heavy starters and dinner menus. Many giveaways, like lucky draws and mul ple winners also a ract many visitors. To meet is important, to give a face to virtual mee ng is more important and will always be in trend. Take it or leave it, it will also be a li le challenging for all of us! Vikrant Gulani - Head of Commercial & Opera on, Incen ves and Conference Planners LLP vikrant@iconplanners.com MICE @ Cruise, Training alongside BLTM 2017 held at Hya Gurgaon 5
FANTASTIC FLORIDA- Des na on Showcase (NIMA) Par cipants : Gajesh Girdhar, Jagdeep Bhagat, Tushar Jain, Ankush Jain, Anil Kumar Bansal, Sanjay Sharma, Mohinder Kumar Tirath, Harish Chandra Verma, Lenin Balakrishnan, Gagandeep Singh Birdie, Lalit Kumar Poddar, Ranveer Singh Saluja, Vikas Arora, Sanjay Kumar 6